Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 898: Chapter 142: The Bonds of the Immortals (Final)

They are powerful, possessing a long history.

They have passed through countless eras, experiencing intrigues and deceit unimaginable to ordinary people.

They view humans the same way they view food.

Walkers of the night, noble and elegant, lazy and decadent, yet with an ageless appearance… Perhaps many people think they are almost perfect.

But they also have moments when they are played—by humans, whom they disdain.

No threats, no coercion, just a small act of deceit, an emotional performance, and humans make them tools to realize ambition.

It’s hard to say who is more pathetic.

Luo Qiu and others have already exited Jin Wucheng’s memory… After that, what happened was Jin Wucheng, as a participant, planning with Karen Yisheer how to find the true ‘culprit’.

To make the true ‘culprit’ feel amazed, Karen Yisheer transformed into Tu Shenyi… For this purpose, she even gave her ‘Three Lifetimes’ to Xitacil.

And all this was actually Jin Wucheng’s purposeful attempt to retrieve all of the ‘Forget Worry’ series, aiming to create what was recorded in the last few pages of the notebook.

Of course, to make Karen Yisheer trust him more, he kept pleading with Tu Shenyi’s ‘elder,’ asking for a chance to become a bloodsucker.

“Isn’t there a nauseating desire behind every revenge story?” Zhong Luoyue sighed quietly… She was the first to speak.

Karen Yisheer didn’t speak. When consciousness exited, returning to the moment, she seemed to be extracted again from her own awareness, sitting down directly.

She bowed her head, holding the blood-patterned longsword for support, her pale hair hanging down on both sides, completely covering her face… Jin Wucheng was already dead.

When their consciousness left Jin Wucheng’s memory, was also the moment Jin Wucheng died.

His body had long been fragile, further tortured; he didn’t know what was maintaining his conscious clarity—even if it was clear, it was chaotic.

However, when those who invaded his memory left, he instinctively felt he’d relaxed something… Took a breath, and welcomed death.

Luo Qiu looked at Jin Wucheng’s corpse… Suddenly, he came to Jin Wucheng’s side and squatted down.

He glanced at Jin Wucheng’s severed finger, then frowned… Finally, Luo Qiu opened his palm, and amidst the chaotic laboratory, suddenly, there was a mixture of black substance and mechanical components, from which something emerged, slowly flying into Luo Qiu’s palm.

What flew was a black finger sleeve, the same one Jin Wucheng wore on his severed finger.

Queen Elizabeth and Zhong Luoyue watched curiously Luo Qiu’s actions at this time—for such supernatural matters, Zhong Luoyue felt she had become somewhat numb… Even feeling this remote retrieval of objects was somewhat childish.

Luo Qiu at this time rubbed the finger sleeve with his fingers, then gradually pulled something out from within it.

“What is this…” Queen Elizabeth asked curiously.

Taken from the black finger sleeve, was several rolled-up pages. When spread out, it revealed they were torn away… Luo Qiu once again looked in the direction of the pure white room, reaching out his hand.

An old notebook flew swiftly to his side, and Luo Qiu opened it and looked carefully.

“These last few pages, had been on him all along.” Karen Yisheer didn’t know when she raised her head.

Luo Qiu didn’t see much sorrow on her face, only felt her face seemed pale like her hair. But he knew, at least not before seeing that black coffin, her hair was not white.

Luo Qiu placed the pages found from the finger sleeve back into the notebook, closed it, then handed it to Karen Yisheer.

But she merely shook her head slightly.

Luo Qiu was stunned, then nodded, putting the notebook away, saying thank you.

Karen Yisheer still didn’t finish the sentence; she suddenly stood up, looking at those ‘Forget Worry’ series.

“I’m only curious if I can leave a little of each for me.” Luo Qiu suddenly asked.

Karen Yisheer said calmly, “Even if you want to take them all, I’m afraid I can’t stop you.”

“I’ll just take a bit.”

In taking a bit, Luo Qiu quickly returned all of the ‘Forget Worry’ series to Karen Yisheer.

She said nothing, only holding them with both hands, slowly walking into that pure white room.

This room concealed hidden mechanisms, opening revealed the wall rotated over. Hidden within, was surprisingly a black coffin.

Karen Yisheer opened the black coffin, placed the ‘Forget Worry’ series inside, and stood there quietly.

No need to specifically peep into the coffin to discover what was inside. Those who had once entered Jin Wucheng’s inner world recognized the coffin’s origin… Inside, was Tu Shenyi’s corpse.

“Perhaps… Perhaps Miss Karen had long realized there was something odd about Jin Wucheng.” Zhong Luoyue at this moment quietly said, “He reclaimed those ‘Forget Worry’ series… Perhaps because they were Tu Shenyi’s creations, she merely wanted to recover… Tu Shenyi’s relics.”

Karen Yisheer suddenly had a smile on her face, absolutely beautiful.

“When lovers spend a long time together, inevitably some quarrels arise.” Karen Yisheer at this time softly said, “For us, the significance of time becomes worthless day by day. We perhaps prefer magnifying some small things, trying different tastes.”

She caressed the coffin, “At first, we were merely discussing the possibility of True Blood. Actually, I and he both knew, True Blood could not be created… I saw reality clearly, while he was an idealist. This man was both stupid and romantic.”

She looked back at the crowd, her face forlorn, “After a quarrel, I traveled the world. During that time, I found myself thinking of this man incessantly, I knew I loved him more… I was waiting for a chance, for a chance to reunite, but eventually, I didn’t wait.”

“These past six months, what supported me was finding the killer who murdered him.” She bowed her head, smiling bitterly, still absolutely beautiful.

“Sometimes I even wonder, if when I was born and if I were human… Would I have met him.”

The room suddenly began to tremble, as if ready to collapse at any moment.

Karen Yisheer merely pointed to the side wall, revealing cracks that opened into a passage.

“Miss Karen!”

Queen Elizabeth shouted, but a large stone fell from above at this moment. Meanwhile, Karen Yisheer suddenly placed the ‘Three Lifetimes’ gem into her mouth, then slowly walked into the coffin.

The floor shattered, and the coffin sank.

The entire Dungeon Maze now began to disintegrate and collapse.

…

…

Rumble, rumble——!

The castle suddenly collapsed, those luxurious decorations, those precious antiques, that accumulation of history for so long vanished instantly.

The servants within the castle fled in haste, fortunately, no lives were lost, only some were lightly relieved—regarding those initially intercepted at the entrance and unable to bring in some celebrity bodyguards, now hurriedly rushing to the scene.

Their employers were still inside, at this moment life and death unknown… But the situation was undoubtedly perilous.

How could it suddenly collapse, this ancient manor with centuries of history… Is it because too many old things have accumulated, to the point of decay?

No one knows… They were just trying everything possible to notify external rescue.

…

In the rubble of the collapsed manor, suddenly there was a loud noise, the piled stones burst apart, followed by the sound of coughing.

Zhong Luoyue was the first to emerge from the burst-open area, she looked up, the starlight was not very bright, but the moonlight was beautiful.

Following her were Luo Qiu and Queen Elizabeth, the two slowly walked out.

Luo Qiu also glanced at the night sky, then at the manor now turned to ruins.

“Finally, we’re out…” Zhong Luoyue leaned against a pillar, sliding down slowly, feeling exhausted in body and soul, an indescribable sensation.

She suddenly found she didn’t hate the night as much anymore.

After a moment of silence, Zhong Luoyue suddenly said, “In the end, did this Miss Karen choose suicide…”

“No, she’s only probably in a deep sleep,” Queen Elizabeth shook her head, “A suicide’s soul would be trapped in a sea of pain, if Miss Karen had committed suicide, she wouldn’t be able to meet Mister Tu in the world after death.”

“World after death…” Zhong Luoyue shook her head, feeling the entire world had turned utterly magical before her eyes.

“Is she just going to keep sleeping like this?” Zhong Luoyue asked curiously.

“Living in dreams,” Luo Qiu suddenly said, “Eventually she’s taken the ‘Three Lifetimes’, living in dreams, able to wake anytime or never at all.”

Zhong Luoyue bitterly smiled, shaking her head, sighing, “There is still one thing I can’t understand.”

She suddenly looked at Luo Qiu… looking at this mysterious figure who always seemed to have answers for everything, “Tu Shenyi is a bloodsucker, I have witnessed a bloodsucker’s power… How on earth did Jin Wucheng manage to bind him? Could Jin Wucheng really have tricked him?”

“Probably not,” responded Luo Qiu quietly, “Mister Tu likely locked himself away.”

Queen Elizabeth and Zhong Luoyue looked at Luo Qiu, puzzled.

Luo Qiu spoke calmly, “Recall the memories of Jin Wucheng we saw. In the stone chamber, he approached cautiously, hesitating as he opened the door to peep inside. If Jin Wucheng had trapped Mister Tu Shenyi, there’d be no need for such behavior, right? His actions seemed like…”

“Like he just discovered something!” Zhong Luoyue exclaimed.

Luo Qiu glanced at this young lady from Boss Zhong’s family.

Zhong Luoyue quickly closed her mouth, afraid that interrupting this mysterious youth’s explanation might cause displeasure.

Queen Elizabeth, however, didn’t pay attention to this, simply curious, “Why did Mister Tu imprison himself?”

“To stop himself from feeding,” Luo Qiu said softly, “To overcome the bloodsucker instinct… Remember the claw marks in that stone chamber?”

Dense, crisscrossed claw marks were crazily scratched out.

They nodded subconsciously.

Luo Qiu said, “I imagine each claw mark carries a fervent love for Miss Karen… Really wants to scratch it out.”

He howled in pain, forcibly resisting the needs of instincts and body, like an addict detoxifying, only when he couldn’t bear it did he claw at the cold stone wall.

Suddenly, Zhong Luoyue and Queen Elizabeth recalled some things—the moment they entered Jin Wucheng’s memories, unfamiliar with psychological induction.

They all ‘saw’ vast segments of each other’s memories in an instant.

…

…

Christmas 1992.

He and she had met two years ago at this place at this time.

Two years later, he and she revisit the place, and by then, he had become like her.

He and she wore thin clothes, walking hand in hand into a small bar… The atmosphere was as lively as it was two years ago.

Only this time the youth was not so destitute that he only had a 1 Mark coin, so he didn’t join the guests in small poker games.

He and she sat at the bar, just quietly looking at each other, silently waiting for the final chime of Christmas Eve.

Suddenly he said, “Actually I can still feel a taste.”

She asked curiously, “Blood?”

He spoke softly, “Your lips.”

As the chime rang suddenly, the bar turned quiet, people accustomed to starting to give thanks, beginning to embrace their cherished ones at this moment.

He and she embraced, then kissed each other.

Truly wished each day could pass by like this.

After the kiss, the youth suddenly thought of something, he was truly a person full of whimsical ideas… The woman thought so.

He said, “Do you think we could create a substitute to completely replace blood? I want to imagine a day when we won’t need to feed on humans, when we could choose from restaurant menus… when people won’t fear us, see us purely as they would Asians, Caucasians, or Black people.”

“Don’t be silly.”

“What if it succeeds?”

“What if it doesn’t succeed at all?”

He joked, “If it truly doesn’t work, then I’ll quit blood, consolidate my experience, and eventually share it. Maybe I’ll become a star in the bloodsucker world?”

Really an impossibly foolish man… She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him.

But this man had great executive power, he was already seriously considering if this plan was viable, “Hmm… Research would need substantial funds. Though you’ve amassed considerable wealth, it might not be enough…”

Not long after, a mythical figure emerged in the gambling world. People knew his name, but not his appearance.

He wore a half-faced white mask, undefeated in all gambling tournaments, people called his alias: God of Gamblers.

…

…

For each of your promises, whether intentional or unintentional… just because I love you deeply.